Ace Attorney: Fading Bloodlines

Turnabout Monorail, Part 6 (Toby)

I tried to hide how tense I was getting. Mukuro, who sat next to me, shot me a glance of concern. "Is something wrong, Dad?"

I shook my head. "Nothing's wrong," I lied, hoping that she would fall for it. Mukuro obviously didn't. She frowned and glared at me, her eyes begging me for a more detailed reply.

I sighed, finally giving into her pleading glances. "Fine. Sixteen years ago, there was a case. I was the detective for it, and the case... It was left unsolved. Nobody knows what happened to the culprit, though they got away," I explained quickly, trying to get through the subject as quickly as I can.

"That sounds bad..." Mukuro muttered. "What happened? Who was accused of what?"

I shook my head and pointed back to the courtroom floor. Ms. Cruz was flicking through the file, about to read some of it over for the court. "It says here that the culprit went uncaught. Nobody knows who it was, and I believe that they returned," she announced.

"But why come back now of all times? The case has been left alone for sixteen years. That's so long that the statute of limitations ran out. It was in October of last year that it ran out, if I recall correctly," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke announced.

"Yeah. That sounds about right," Prosecutor Bloom agreed. "I don't see why the culprit would wait so long to make their move, though. Nobody can do anything about the case now. Nobody can solve it because there isn't any time left to catch the culprit. We don't have time to go obsessing over a case from sixteen years ago."

"I bet that you'd feel differently if I told you that the first witness was Mr. Morix..." I murmured, shaking my head. Mukuro, who had apparently heard my whispers, stared at me in shock. I pretended not to see her, not in the mood to talk about that stupid case.

"What else h-happened in the c-case?" Anton asked quietly, clinging to Prosecutor Bloom's arm.

"Wait... Speaking of the case..." Ms. Cruz began shuffling through her evidence. "The defense found something in the hands of one of the victims yesterday. It was a paper from the case file surrounding the case from sixteen years ago, specifically the page about who the people involved were."

"So... She knew that she was meeting with somebody about the case... Interesting thing to hear, don't you think?" Chief Prosecutor Bespoke asked. "Maybe the culprit was the victim. If the case went unsolved, then their attacker wouldn't have been found. Maybe it was some twisted form of revenge from the victim's direction."

"It's not like we'd be able to find out about it. The victim's identity is unknown, even to those involved in the case. A family member or somebody else related to the victim tried to hide their identity, so nobody knows who it could be," Ms. Cruz frowned.

I found myself walking down to the witness stand, much to Mukuro's confusion. She called after me, asking where I was going, but I didn't reply. I had a theory, and I had to share it before the topic changed.

Everybody stared at me once I had appeared at the stand. "I just realized something," I announced.

"D-Detective, you have not been called to the stand. I must ask you to return to your seat in the gallery," the judge announced.

"You have a theory?" Ms. Cruz asked.

"This is most irregular," the judge told me with scolding eyes.

"I'll allow it," Prosecutor Bloom said. The judge nodded in agreement, not wanting to get yelled at by the scariest prosecutor the city has ever known.

"About the case from sixteen years ago... I was the detective on it, and I have a theory about that case having deep connections to this case," I declared.

"What sort of theory is it?" Chief Prosecutor Bespoke asked. "And what sort of link does the old case have to do with this one?"

"You see, the witness from the second day of the trial, Mary Sue, was found at the crime scene as well. She was in one of the monorail cars. The defense and prosecution for the case more commonly known as the victims, were also on the monorail. I believe that whoever the culprit is, they felt the odd need to call everybody involved in the case out to meet somewhere," I announced.

"That seems odd... Does this mean that the victim or the culprit called them all there?" Prosecutor Bloom asked. "Or could somebody else have done so?"

"The judge for the trial died a few years ago, so it couldn't have been his doing. The culprit and victim are possibilities, though. The first witness could also work," I said. "But... Nobody has seen him in quite some time now. He disappeared a month or so ago, so I doubt that he would show his face for this," I told the court, nervously messing with my hat.

"Who was the first witness, anyways?" Prosecutor Bloom questioned.

"Cotoli Morix. I'm sure you'll find the name familiar," I explained.

Everybody from the prosecution tensed up. I knew that they would remember the name. How could they not?

"So... Where does this leave us?" Ms. Cruz asked. "We know that somebody involved in the case orchestrated this..."

"I believe now is a proper time to adjourn the trial," the judge suggested. "Are there any objections from the defense or prosecution?"

Nobody objected, for which I was thankful for. I bit my lip in my hope that nobody would speak.

Nobody did.

"In that case, court is now adjourned for one more day of investigation!" The judge beat his gavel down, so I ran from the courtroom.

I had to look more into the case from sixteen years ago.

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btw the sixteen years ago case is the next turnabout woo

I knew you all were curious

-Digital